Tokyo Reconsiders Nuclear Phaseout

By

Mitsuru Obe

Dec. 28, 2012 1:42 p.m. ET

TOKYO—Japan's new trade and industry minister said the government will consider scrapping a plan to phase out nuclear power by 2040—a promise made by the previous administration—and could reopen nuclear plants that pass stringent safety tests and consider allowing 40-year-old plants to remain open.

The move represents a shift from the stance taken by the ruling Liberal Democratic Party during its campaign for the lower house election, in which the pro-business LDP called for creating "a society that doesn't depend...